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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author, poet, activist and teacher. Her books have been translated into 29 languages and her work has appeared in over one hundred magazines and anthologies. Divakaruni’s short story collection, Arranged Marriage, won an American Book Award in 1995 and two of her novels (The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart) have been adapted into films. Divakaruni is originally from India; many of her books have Indian women as protagonist characters and include stories of infanticide, sex-selection, misogyny and the preference for sons.

Divakaruni is also the co-founder and former president of Maitri, a nonprofit organization founded in 1991. Maitri provides support services for South Asian women who are encountering domestic abuse. Currently Divakaruni serves on Maitri’s advisory board and also serves on the advisory board of Daya, a similar nonprofit organization based in Houston, TX.

What do female equality and empowerment mean to you?

Both are really important. Women need to be empowered and have equality; they need to feel valued. Women have a lot to give society and the world but are often held back. Held back due to tradition and abuse, their own understanding of what they are capable of is lacking. We need to break down barriers so women’s talent, power and dreams can be unleashed.

Can you talk about why you have chosen to write about women facing gender discrimination, violence and pressure into having sons?

It is important to put women in the center of my book so their thoughts, dreams and challenges are show cased, and readers are drawn into their characters. I want readers to be forced to think of women. So often in art and life, women are pushed to the sidelines. What men and larger society think of them becomes the only acceptable representation. We are conditioned by society to think of women in a certain way. It is important for my characters to question their roles and restraints, and draw on their inner strength if they are in trouble.

In thinking of your work with women’s organizations in the United States, do you think gender discrimination and violence have increased since you first began work in this sector?

The rate of violence is the same, but now more women are willing to talk about their situation. Women are reaching out with stories and asking for help. When I started working in this sector 20 years ago, there were taboos that if you were a woman in an abusive relationship something was wrong with you. You wanted to keep it quiet so it would be better for your children and not bring shame to your family. Women are now willing to take a risk to get help and are questioning whether they have another option to their situation. Instead of wanting to save face they want to save their lives. This raises awareness. Many organizations are offering support through seminars, with topics such as immigration or making financial decisions. These seminars give women real skills, but also create a safe space for women to dialogue about being independent and breaking away from an unsafe situation. Organizations have been smart about the ways they increase consciousness and increase women’s independence so it is done discreetly. Since women are often in a situation where it’s okay for them to say they are going to seminar about finances, but not okay to go to seminar about domestic violence, a call for empowerment is woven through the seminars.

What is your perception of the Indian community in the US – is there a strong preference for sons as there is in India? Is there any difference in the mindset of Indians in this country?

There is a difference, but there are still traditional families who place greater value on sons and view sons as more integral to the family. It is not as extreme in the US where education is denied to girls, but there is still a perception that girls leave their family after marriage. I believe in the US daughters are treated differently, but just as well, as sons – especially in regard to education. This goes for about 70% of Indian families in the US. The longer people live here, the more change occurs in their views. There is a huge leap in the second generation and when they have kids they make different choices. The biggest factor is whether you’ve had an education here and what values you grew up with. This makes a big difference.

Beyond the plain deaths, what is the most damaging effect of the genocide of girls in India?

The greatest negative consequence is that the gender balance is skewed. There are more men and less women which leads to more problems, especially sexual crimes including rape. Many rape cases involve men who aren’t married; this will only increase.

What do we need to do to change the mindset of Indians, both in the US and India, to respect women?

We should do what we can to get women economically independent, get jobs and have micro businesses, so they contribute to society and are valued more. These skills would put women in a place of confidence to leave an abusive situation. We also need to empower women and girls more by educating them. We need to help women gain literacy so they are savvy and are not as easily taken advantage of. These are basic, but hard, things to do. We have seen that educated and financially independent women come out of abusive situations quickly. We need women to gain self-confidence. Education and economic empowerment and independence are the most important things. The media can and should start portraying women in a more positive light. Too many movies portray women as unequal and as sex objects. We see this in the clothes women wear; women dressing in a sexy manner are portrayed as integral to them being special. These portrayals subconsciously have made us think about women in these devalued terms. We need more movies and books that break these mainstream portrayals. We need to show women as powerful and not portray that as exceptional. Women can be attractive and elegant without being a sex object or wear skimpy clothes.

What can people do to help the cause? How can we make a difference?

We can use social media to raise consciousness. People need to start writing about this issue and discuss it in a social media forum. We need to ask for, and demand, books and art that are socially conscious and attentive to ending the devalued perception of women. People can help by volunteering for organizations that are working for the cause; people can help raise money or give time. Also, people can help by speaking up if they see something wrong. If you see a women who is being treated badly, befriend her and let her know there are options so she feels valued. So we can help at the volunteer, work, personal and social media level. You can do this on your school campus or at work. There are organizations in India that are fighting against the problem women and girls face. We can get the word out about these organizations. Post on your Facebook page about important issues like women’s empowerment. Support filmmakers who are making films about this issue like Petals in the Dust.

For more information about Chitra Banerjee Divakurni, go to her website at www.chitradivakaruni.com

WINNER, NOT WHINER!

Jacqueline Colaco is a crusader with a difference.

Once an international hockey player, model, choral singer and highly successful banker till diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 37, she never gave up and extends outreach to fellow sufferers, champions those with disabilities, participates in wheelchair marathons to raise funds for charities and creates awareness against female injustice.

She writes based on her own life experiences and typed her autobiography ‘Just me, Jacqueline, on My Way’ with one finger. This was published when she turned 60.

Tell us about your childhood in India? What did you dream of being when you grew up?

I was born and lived for most of my life in the very cosmopolitan city of Bangalore in an upper middle class Catholic family. We lived in more of an Anglo-Indian culture with a lot of western style habits (including food), being observed in our home. We spoke English instead of our native tongue Konkani, enjoyed western music and films and were trained to play western instruments with hardly any exposure to the Indian culture, religions, music and language which is regrettable. The overhang of the British era in which my parents’ grew up had a heavy impact on our ‘growing years’. The closer bondings, interactions and understandings with Indians of other castes and creeds plus social strata started only during college and working days.I planned to pursue a degree in Pharmacy after I graduated from school, but changed my mind as it would afford me no time simultaneously to indulge my passion to play field hockey too. My father thought the only fit pursuits for women were teaching or secretarial jobs. However, he did not stop me from registering for studies in Commerce and Banking and applying for a bank Officer’s position and moving away to another city Mumbai ,then called Bombay at age twenty, where I was first posted, although it was on condition that I stayed at the home of my eldest sister and family there.

Did you face any discrimination at any stage in your life so far? And if you did, how did you overcome it?

Only perhaps when I applied for an overseas posting with the Bank for which I worked and I think that was more out of protective concern of the authorities for me, being a single Indian woman going to work in an environment with which I was not familiar, and living on my own for the first time as well. In the interview when this was raised, I replied that if I did not have the confidence to tackle what might be in store for me, I would not have applied for the position. I was 34 then and had worked for 14 years with the bank. Thanks to one broad minded boss I understand I got the position in New York, and once well settled in that Branch, my local boss did express to me his initial apprehensions of how they were wondering if I’d fit in with the all male bastion, but was proud to truly declare me a plus to the team. Luckily, my father too was confident I could handle myself and was proud of my selection as the first woman officer selected to work abroad.

Tell us how you got to where you are today?

I’ve been blessed with a reasonable IQ that has not required me to struggle too much with any pursuit of mine, and I’ve been content to be an all round achiever, going along with the flow of life. However it is hard work, dedication and a strong commitment to people and the job on hand that has enabled me believe in my own self worth and create a belief of my reliability and credibility with those who repose their trust in me.

What advice do you have for other Indian girls and women?

Whatever your circumstances and difficulties, it is for you to overcome and find support from someone around you, if you are unable to fight for yourself. In today’s world, we are fortunate to have many helplines and self help groups, but it is for us individually to find the one within us that really wants to connect with the external one to change our situation for the better, instead of being content to continue as victims of self pity and keep looking for empathy. Sadly, I still find many women like this, even those who are economically stable, lacking the courage to move forward to change for a better life where they are doing what they want to do too, alongside an effort to introduce the concept of equality harmoniously by their man and his family! Education and elimination of dowry system will improve this situation, especially in rural India.

Do you think Indian girls are endangered? And if yes, why?

Sadly the lack of awareness, education and crass male domination in Indian society leading to disrespect for all women, is still a threat to Indian females.

What can we do to make India a safer place for girls?

The past one year has however seen a great change from middle class Indian women and men, at least in terms of public protests, taking to task all offenders and making the law and authorities move to punish offenders. The media too has given widespread support and coverage of issues relating to improving attitudes towards the female sex in India, exposing laxities on the part of authorities in enforcement of rules and regulations in regard to protection and enforcement of sex determination tests, abortions beyond permitted dates and related foeticide/infanticide crimes. TV coverage spreads to rural india as well and these programmes are beamed to the masses in the local languages to educate them and hopefully change the archaic attitudes and show them how wrong the practices have been in denying the girl child her equality in the family. ’Satymev Jayate’ the TV series produced and hosted in 2012, by Aamir Khan celebrated actor on social issues, also covered a couple of gender related themes and was a ‘sellout’ programme of huge impact in terms of awareness creation in the country.

Is there anything that you are doing to promote the value of girls and end gender discrimination and violence?

I am a promoter of the ’Petalsinthedust’ Campaign on Facebook and through e-mail and I have also organized the Global Walk for India’s Missing Girls for the past three years and publicized it through local press/TV media.

What are three things you love about India?

It is truly a ‘live and let live country’ and democracy prevails!

My living and cultural tastes are mostly Western influenced, but I’d never choose to live anywhere else because this is home for me. I love my city’s salubrious climate and the neighborliness and mutual acceptance we share irrespective of caste, creed or culture.

There is much outreach to be done here towards those in need to make one feel fulfilled.

What is your favorite quote?

To be a leader as well as a member of a teamTo be competitive but not cut-throatTo be sporting and gracious both on and off the jobAnd to play the game of life for the sheer love of it!

The Global Walk for India’s Missing Girls was founded in 2010 on the occasion of International Women’s Day in San Francisco by the filmmakers of Petals In The Dust. Since then the Walk has taken place in over 26 cities in five countries including India, Australia, Kuwait, Canada and the USA. Many of the organizers of the Walks are very committed young Indian men and women. The goal of the Walk is to be a global platform to highlight the enormity of the murder and sexual violence that Indian girls face, create dialogue around these issues and to spur the Indian and International communities into getting involved into making India a safe place for the female gender.

Here are videos of the compelling speeches made by our wonderful guest speakers who are all involved in making a difference in our Indian community here in the US and in India.

The 4th annual Global Walk for India’s Missing Girls, City Hall, San Francisco

Participants of the 4th annual Global Walk for India’s Missing Girls, City Hall, San Francisco

Photographs by Rashi Jindani

On October 26, a bright and sunny day in San Francisco,over 70 people walked in solidarity to put an end to the killing of girls in India. It was the fourth annual Global Walk for India’s Missing Girls, a Walkathon founded by Nyna Caputi, director and producer of the documentary film Petals in the Dust : The Endangered Girls which is currently in post-production. To date, this Walk has taken place in over five countries and twenty-six cities. There was great diversity in the group of walkers, people from all over the Bay Area with different backgrounds and professions, but everyone felt compelled to come together and show support for this tragedy.

Anu Natarajan, Vice-Mayor of Fremont and her daughter

One of the guest speakers , Sonya Pelia, President of Maitri, said, “Through the entire walk, I kept reflecting on the works of a young Indian girl who was recently featured in a documentary about the status of women and girls in India. When asked about what she thought of being a girl in India, she said that she was grateful to her father for letting her live. I couldn’t stop thinking – Is this what we have come to? That half the population of a country needs to thank the other half for letting them live?”

Sonya Pelia, President of Maitri

Jamie Rice a long time supporter and volunteer with Petals In The Dust, said, “”This is the third year in a row that my husband, daughter and I have participated in this Walk. This time, our four-year-old daughter asked a lot of questions. She asked what the signs said that people were carrying. Then she wanted to know why some girls aren’t well taken care of or treated nicely. And, she wanted to know how she can help them. I told her that the walk, which happens in cities around the world, will help make more people know about the problem–and then we’ll have more people willing to help the girls. I am proud that I have a young daughter who is already beginning to understand that it’s important to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves and to do her part to make the world a better place.”

Participants of the 4th annual Global Walk for India’s Missing Girls, City Hall, San Francisco

Gloria Andrews, the project coordinator intern for this Walk, who worked very hard to help organize it, had this to say, “This was my first year being involved with the global walk as a project coordinator intern and it really helped me understand the effect and importance of raising awareness on a first hand basis. I had friends who walked with us, who did not even know about female infanticide or the degree of violence against women in India. After hearing about it, not only were they interested in learning more about our awareness campaign but were also interested in getting more involved. Knowing that we were able to reach out to people with information about what was going on in India was great but what was even better was to know that they felt compelled to rise up to the challenge and do something about it. They got involved in our social media campaign, they donated, they volunteered during the day of the walk and even asked to do more in the coming years. This to me was what made this Walkathon a success. If we stand up as a community and grow in numbers, it will be a powerful tool for creating change that could stop social injustice across the world. “

Gloria Andrews, Project Coordinator Intern with Petals In The Dust

After completing the walk, Dayamudra Dennehy said, “What an inspiring gathering of folks committed to India’s next generation of girls. Our work at Jai Bhim International is with Dalit youth, those from the community considered “untouchable”, and the girls and women in this community are the most vulnerable of India’s females. I was grateful to be able to voice caste as a silenced aspect of the violence facing girls and women and be a part of such vibrant conversation. While walking I spoke with Sonya from Maitri, about their accomplishment in rescuing Indian girls form sex slavery in Berkeley, girls who were all Dalits. I also spoke with Partha of Asha and was encouraged by the way his team brings together folks in the Bay Area to support education projects in India. All in all, I left the Walk feeling that I had connected with committed, passionate, creative and resourceful people.”

Dayamudra Dennehy, founder of Jai Bhim International

For my part, speaking as a first time walker, I felt invigorated and energized by the group of supporters I walked with. Everyone had their own reasons for being there – whether they know someone who has been directly affected by the killing of girls or whether, like me, they were shocked to learn that this is even happening India – but nonetheless there was a shared sense of urgency to bring about a greater awareness of this issue and do something to put an end to it.

Q: This is the fourth annual Walk for India’s Missing Girls. Why was it so important for you to start this walk?

Nyna: I was lucky to be born into a family that valued girls. Growing up in India I was quite oblivious to the fact that girls were being murdered, as the media rarely reported about female infanticide nor was it a topic that was discussed in school and college. I became aware of the intensity of the problem in early 2000 when I was trying to adopt a girl from India. The supervisor at the orphanage I visited told me that before the orphanage was built, they used to drown baby girls in the nearby lake. I came home and researched the issue, and was extremely disturbed and saddened to learn that over 50 million girls have been eliminated in the last century and that girls were continuing to be murdered in the 21st century, just because they were female. I felt compelled to take this genocide seriously and decided to produce a documentary film, Petals in the Dust: The Endangered Indian Girls, about the issue. I owed it to the girls and women of India to tell their stories and create awareness through a documentary film. The Walk is an extension of my initial starting point in making a film to create awareness of the issue.

Melbourne, Australia Pondicherry, India

Q: What do you hope the Walk will achieve?

Nyna: The Walk has taken place in over 25 cities across the globe including India, the US, Canada, Australia and Kuwait, and I hope people in all these cities and beyond will be inspired by this issue – and realize that it cannot be ignored any longer. This is the worst genocide in India’s history and unless we act soon, Indian girls will continue to be eliminated. Another goal of the Walk is to get youth in India involved – since they are the future parents of our country and can make a significant contribution in promoting gender equality and ending the cycle of violence and murder of India’s girls. In Chennai and Pondicherry, high school and college students have organized the Walk. In Chennai over 800 youth convened to walk together. Through youth leaders we need to build awareness of the issue, educate school and college kids on the equality of sexes, and promote the importance of building self-esteem and empowering girls and women to put an end to this genocide. Internationally, I organized the Walks in regions where there is a significant Indian population so they could get involved in the cause. If this genocide continues we will need international governments to pressure India to enforce stricter laws to protect girls from conception to adulthood.

Goa, India Surrey, Canada

Q: What is your motivation in bringing awareness about the issue of female infanticide?

Nyna: It’s important for people to have a comprehensive understanding of genocide in India, which extends well beyond female infanticide. Girls are endangered at every stage of their lives. In the last year, sexual violence against women has escalated. The rape of the young woman in Delhi was not just a sexual act, it was a hate crime. She was violated, tortured and then left to die. The same brutal violence occurs when newborn baby girls are killed by their parents or when a young bride dies is killed by her husband in a dowry death. Where are these extreme forms of intolerance and violence coming from? In 2011 a Trust Law poll conducted by the Thomas Reuter Foundation ranked India as the 4th most dangerous place in the world for women. My motivation and goals for the Walk have evolved since founding it in 2010. We need a global platform to highlight the enormity of the violence that Indian women face and how unsafe India is becoming for the female gender. If the murder of girls continues at this rate, the gender ratio is only going to get further skewed. I want the way women are looked at and treated in India to change. That starts with discussions on gender equality so girls don’t grow up with the belief that they are not equal to their male siblings. Parents need to love and respect their daughters and understand that they are equal to their sons. The Indian government needs to wake up and enforce stricter laws to protect India’s girls and women.

Chennai, India Washington DC, USA

Q: How does supporting the Walk support the film?

Nyna: This year we are asking for a suggested donation when registering for the walk that will go towards the completion of the film and be screened at schools, colleges and other institutions. The film is important because it brings the voices of countless Indian women affected by the issue of the genocide to audiences across the globe. You can hear first hand from women in India who have faced discrimination and violence across socio-economic strata. You can learn from activists who found that sex-selection and the violence associated with it is happening across geographic, socio-economic and religious barriers. These powerful voices cannot be forgotten by those who view the film. I chose the name Petals in the Dust to indicate the plight girls and women face when they undergo such violence.

Bangalore, India Seattle, USA

Q: For people who want to volunteer and get involved with the cause, what work is there to be done? How can people help?

Nyna: We welcome all the support we can get, whether people can donate a monetary sum or volunteer their time for the cause. We have several projects going that will benefit from volunteer support. We are looking for people to organize our awareness campaigns, write blogs and take administrative leadership roles in raising funds to complete the film. Anyone interested in volunteering should send an email to info@petalsinthedust.com. Meanwhile please spread the word about this genocide in India and join us for the Walkathon on October 26th.

In honor of International Day of the Girl , we at Petals In The Dust are launching our blog to celebrate India’s girls and also to highlight the continued discrimination, violence and murder that they face. The United Nations General Assembly on December 19, 2011 adopted a resolution to declare October 11, as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognise girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

For girls in India, this day has immense significance. Ranked as the fourth most dangerous country in the world for women by a TrustLaw poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters foundation in 2011, Indian girls are endangered at every stage of their lives.

Female foeticide, child marriage and high levels of trafficking and domestic servitude make the world’s largest democracy the fourth most dangerous place for women, the poll showed.

50 Million girls have been eliminated in the last century due to Female Infanticide and Sex-selective Abortions.

100 Million people, mostly women and girls, are involved in Trafficking in one way or another.

17 Million Girls are Killed between ages 1-15 years in India because lack of proper nutrition, medical attention and domestic labor.

Girls that survive being killed before birth or after birth, trafficked or married at an early age, could become victims of ccid attacks, rape, incest, honor killings and dowry deaths.

To highlight how unsafe India is for girls, how little is being done to protect them or convict the perpetrators of these crimes, we have launched the #IamEndangered campaign.

If you are an Indian girl or woman living in India or anywhere else in the world and feel strongly about this, do join thiscampaign.
1. Take a photo of yourself holding a handwritten or printed sign #IamEndangered
or take a photo of yourself and add the caption #IamEndangered
2. You can include a caption too #IamEndangered because…..
3. Upload your photo on this FB page, on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or Tumblr using the #IamEndangered and #petalsinthedust in the comments.
4. If you don’t want to do a photo, write a caption #IamEndangered because …..
The caption can represent any form of violence and discrimination that an Indian girl faces.
If you don’t use social media, you can email us your photo or caption to info@petalsinthedust.com
The campaign will end on October 31.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi

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Synopsis

Petals in the Dust: The Endangered Indian Girls examines the condition of an endangered class of people living in one of the most populous, culturally and economic vibrant countries: modern India. They come from all walks of life and share only one common trait: they are female.

A patriarchal mindset, a preference for sons and a deep-seated intolerance has led to the murder of 50 million girls and women in India in the last century. They continue to lose their lives in this century to infanticide, sex-selective abortions, starvation and medical neglect, dowry deaths and brutal gang rapes. The declining female population is also leading to increased crimes against women including trafficking and bride buying. By 2020 there will be 20 percent more men than women.

The film explores the cultural origins of this vast genocidal crime and includes the voices of activists and gender experts. By profiling the unimaginable stories of brave survivors, viewers enter the chilling realities girls and women are currently enduring, NOW, providing a sense of urgency in helping to change status quo.

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